The State of California is starting a new fiscal year July 1st. They're flat broke and the idiots in the legislature have prostituted themselves to the state public employees and their unions, the illegal aliens, the legions of social parasites on the various welfare plans. So don't count on the status quo to change in the meantime. If you don't fit in any of those groups, you are going to receive what the little bird left on the rock from the State of California. Just keep sending your tax money in !!! The non-productive, the under productive, and the non citizens thank you for your support. Aren't they doing an absolute wonderful job in encouraging the people and industries that can actually carry the water instead of those who just drink the water to seek more friendly tax venues???? i.e. like move out of state....The stampede is gaining momentum...

Therefore, I strongly suggest that anyone who arranges their affairs where at the end of the tax year they receive a state income tax refund (Also called an interest free loan to state government) to change their withholding or estimates so they actually owe next April 15th. Unless you really want an IOU from a bankrupt entity???/

Sometimes it is fun to just sit back and let the idiots ramble, but there is a misconception that the California Public Employee's Retirement System deals with tax money...WRONG. PERS is not only the largest retirement system in the world, it is the most fiscally sound. The only tax money involved is the employer contribution which is matched by the employee. The employer pays a portion of the employees retirement to attract and hold quality employees. This money is then invested and makes money to support the fund. PERS, at the top of the stock market had 230billion in assets. It now has about 175billion and still pays all the retirees out of it's income. The bitch about tax money is just the legislature trying to avoid keeping their part of the contract which says they must pay part of the working employees retirement contribution,(not retirement benefits) while the employee is working. Once an employee retires, his/her retirement is all PERS funds and is no longer a burden on the State.

I will be the first to agree that some State employees have been extremely lucky to get retirement benefits which are extraordinary. However, those benefits were raised by the Democrats who slept with the Correctional Officers union for many years. Hopefully, some of those top end benefits will be cut back. Arnie is the only Govenor with the balls to take on the unions and I applaud him for that, but lets not condem all public sector employees over the political corruption of a bunch of no good legislators and a few union bosses overcome with power and greed.

Additionally, sworn peace officers in CA are the only State Employees who do not pay into social security. That is one justification for the earlier retirement age for peace officers under PERS.

Jon Schorle
Retired Chief of Police
Feeding at the public trough for 45 years.

The way I understand it, if CALPERS doesn't make enough on their investment portfolio to pay the "extremely generous, as in 90% for police after 30 years," they come back to the public entity that the individual retired from and ask them to make up the difference. Which amounts to an open ended retirement for the employer. That would sure fly in the private sector. How costly is this?? One needs to put away $10K per year and average 7.2% each year for 30 years to get that amount to $80K. Which is not an unusual amount for a cop to retire with in Ca. Any blue collar union people out there making $80K a year in retirement a year??? Teamster? Construction worker???

Also, when it comes to extracting the utmost farthing from an employer, public employees have no peers. To be fair, they have a lot of help from elected officials whom the word "fiduciary" is totally foreign......

Normally, I stay away from these discussion threads because they lead to no good end. wrzone & waterhouselake...you are both wrong on your facts. I certainly do not agree with the 90% plus retirements. But, get your facts straight, please.

I don't know how the pensions are funded in California, but I do remember reading about a city in Ca filing for bankruptcy a year or so ago. If I remember they were blaming the bankruptcy on overly generous pay and benefits to the city's police officers and firefighters. I think the city was Vallejo.

It isn't limited to Ca, unfortunately. Every damn governing body city, county, state and federal is out of control with their spending.